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Vicious: Sarah Palin's War on Wolves

September 11, 2008 | Wolves / Alaska Boycott

by Marybeth Holleman
Anchorage, Alaska

This past June, on a cool morning in southwest Alaska, fourteen wolf pups were pulled from their dens and shot in the head, one by one, by state biologists sanctioned by Governor Sarah Palin. At a month old, these pups had opened their eyes and ears less than two weeks earlier. They had ventured from the dark safety of the den once or twice. They had grown into rolling, tumbling, play-fighting puppies for whom their only care was, when would they next get to nurse?

They still depended entirely on their parents and their packs for food, shelter, protection. But every single adult member of their packs had already been gunned down from above by the Alaska state workers who shot them. These pups did nothing to deserve such a malicious early end to life other than to be born a wolf in Alaska in the era of Sarah Palin.

To most Americans in this day and age, this is atrocious. But to those of us who have watched Sarah Palin at work for the past two years, it's not at all surprising. As Governor, Palin has expanded Alaska's aerial hunting further and faster than any predecessor, since anything seen since territorial days, when all predators were targeted for extermination as worthless vermin.

I've lived in Alaska for nearly 25 years, long enough to see the on-again off-again cycles of predator control. But never has the killing of wolves and bears in order to inflate the numbers of moose and caribou been so widespread and mean-spirited as under Palin's reign.

Under Palin, private citizens kill wolves from planes under the guise of predator control. They run the wolves to exhaustion, and then shoot them. Under Palin, for the first time in 20 years, wolves are also gunned down from state-chartered helicopters. Palin authorized $400,000 in state funds for advertising to persuade Alaskans to vote against a ballot initiative that would have curtailed aerial hunting. Her propaganda was successful; the ballot measure failed.

Under Palin, for the first time since Alaska's statehood in 1958, it's legal to do land-and-shoot killing of bears and their cubs. Under Palin, predator control has spread from one to five regions of Alaska, to over 60,000 square miles, more than at any time since statehood. Nearly 800 wolves have been shot from planes, and some 2,000 are killed every year by other methods. And that's just the reported deaths. Palin even went so far last year as to put a bounty on wolves-she wanted to pay $150 for a foreleg of each dead wolf. Thanks to Friends of Animals, Alaska Wildlife Alliance, and Defenders of Wildlife, her wolf bounty was ruled illegal by the courts.

Wildlife scientists from around the country are dismayed at Palin's predator program, noting it doesn't meet the standards recommended by the U.S. National Research Council to justify, implement, monitor, and evaluate. Last year, 172 scientists wrote to Palin, warning her that if she did reach the "unsustainable historically high" moose and caribou numbers she sought, it would ecologically backfire in a huge way: not only would she put at risk the long-term health of Alaska's wolves, but of the very moose and caribou she sought to increase.

Palin would have the rest of Americans believe that this massive slaughter is acceptable, indeed necessary. She points to fifty years of statehood in which wolves have not become extinct. But the extent of the kill now far surpasses anything we've ever seen.

Even many Alaska hunters have grown outraged over Palin's out-of-control wolf control. Most recently, she's tried to give even more power to the Board of Game-the one that she appoints. This, wrote Alaska Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, would give her Board "more leeway without any scientific input to do whatever the hell they basically wanted." This program has been a true black eye for all hunters in Alaska, and for our state.
Contrary to what Palin would have Americans believe, only 14 percent of Alaskans hunt. Of those, a small percentage are true subsistence hunters. Palin wants wolves and bears scraped from the landscape so it's easier for urban hunters to get their kill in a weekend.

Don't let her fool you: Wasilla has just as many big-box and fast-food stores as any place in America, and just as many opportunities to make money to buy food. Alaskans haven't paid income tax for decades, and instead get over $1000 a year-for every man, woman, and child-in oil dividends. It's not economic necessity that drives the killing of wolves.

During Alaska's gubernatorial debates, Palin spoke with such passionate hatred about the need to kill wolves and bears that it sounded like we were thrown back into the dark ages of wildlife management, when bounties were paid for the feet of bald eagles, the fins of seals and sea lions, the skins of fox, coyote, wolf, and bear. Yes: bald eagles. They were blamed for eating too many salmon.

I was raised Catholic. I learned early on that if someone persecutes one group that's different from them, they also persecute others who are "different." It has taken the national media spotlight and her vicious statements on national stage to show Alaskans what we didn't know when Palin ran for Governor-to expose her disdain not only for non-human life, but also for those of different races, nationalities, and religions.

As a Catholic, I also learned that we have a responsibility to all living things. Not just human life, but all life. Which is, as we all now know, inextricably linked to all that we need in order to survive. Food, air, water, shelter. Safety. All that those wolf pups wanted from life. And all that was taken from them.

Comments

Submitted by Liliana Tavares on Thu, 2008-09-11 23:06

As I was reading this article, I couldn't believe my eyes. It is just appalling!! How could Palin be so cruel and heartless? I see no need for her to go out and brutally murder innocent wolves. She should be ashamed and feel like like a total and complete #$@ This should be an eye opener for everyone who was thinking of voting for her.

I have always wanted to visit Alaska, it is my dream vacation. I refuse however,to visit Alaska until the hunting of wolves is called off. What ever happened to the travel boycott from a few years ago. This crazy shooting must be hurting the cruise ship industry. Is there someway to get the Boycott rolling again? What about some publicity? Who can get the ball rolling? I am willing to spread the word via the internet, or anyone else? When I saw the film on You-tube of a beautiful wolf being gunned down by air, I broke down and cried. It was especially moving to me, because I have an Alaskan Malamute that looks just like the murdered wolf.

She's against abortion!!! But yet she has newborn wolves killed? What about our military personnel? No abortion so there's more fodder for the cannons! She's NOT getting my vote, & I am a midwife! How would SHE feel if the same were done to her litter? Those wolf moms were probably engorged with milk that would not be taken out again. Being engorged with milk is NOT fun, you can also get an infection from milk that stays in. The wolf moms must have also been in physical & emotional pain for their dead babies..................
How would Palin feel if that were HER litter????
My family has had 3 rescure ferrets (who are now in heaven) & now 2 rescue cats, whom were spayed through Friends of Animals fantastic program!!!!

I was thoroughly appalled and disgusted at hearing of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin being chosen as a candidate for Vice President. Her history on wildlife, most especially wolves, is deplorable. I have posted several e-mails to groups and political organizations voicing my disdain for her viewpoints and political actions. We do not need her, or those with like viewpoints on animals/wildlife in any more public positions, let alone a high standing National office, and we can only hope that the states where she and others with similar viewpoints will soon vote her/them out of office.
What I do not understand is the following: Many of the animal welfare groups I belong to are sending messages to members regarding this (as you have done) and yet, I am not seeing any attention of this brought to the mainstream media - which is where it needs to be. The majority of the voting public do not belong to animal welfare/rights groups, but they would none the less be appalled to hear of these issues/actions that she has brought about and/or continued. They are the segment of the voting public that needs to hear these things . . . why are these issues not being brought to the forefront by animal groups.
Please, use your strength as a group to get the word out to the general public. Thank you.
Karen Barth

Fairness, justice, compassion are all just words to a type like this. But mention the hunting lobby and she jumps...same old politics, folks. Just imagine our country and our world with her as our President! Now, that's scarey! Let's keep her up in Alaska, give her five days food supply, her gun, hip deep winter snow and let her find herself a wolf. The contest would at least be fair.

sarah palin is a horrible cruel miserable excuse for a human being. She is a two faced hypocrite that has no regard for human or animal wildlife. She brags about her Moose stew like it was a national award. I wish we could get bumper stickers letting everyone know what this beast is all about.